Glaucoma afflicts approximately two million people in the United States and about 15 million people worldwide. Approximately two percent of the population over 35 suffers from some form of glaucoma and it accounts for approximately 12% of all cases of blindness. Despite its easy diagnosis, therapies to lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma are frequently inadequate. Use of topical and oral medicines to lower intraocular pressure is often limited by side effects of the drugs. In other cases, use of medical therapy to treat glaucoma is not successful in lowering intraocular pressure sufficiently to prevent progressive damage to the optic nerve.
Consequently, there is a need for methods, compounds and compositions for treating glaucoma and other medical conditions of the eye or epithelium.